“Organic” products and organic foods have become a buzzing topic as of lately. Not surprisingly, consumers are often confused as to what organic really means. This article will look to answer some of the most common questions about buying organic and the benefits of choosing certain organic foods over non-organic foods.

What is Organic?

Use of the term Organic is monitored by the USDA National Organic Program (NOP). The NOP uses the word “Organic” to mean that a food or produce is grown or raised without the use of pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, in an area that is not contaminated by sewage, and does not involve genetically modified organisms or ionizing radiation (http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/NOP). “Organic” meat means that the animals are not raised with or given antibiotics or growth hormones.

The USDA NOP has created three categories of organic. 100% Organic is a top grade Organic product and all ingredients in the product are made according to the USDA organic farming standards. The second category is labeled simply as Organic which means that at least 95% of the ingredients are organic.  The third category is “Made with Organic Ingredients” which signifies that at least 70% of ingredients are made according to USDA’s organic standards without any genetically modified organisms.

Don’t get tricked!!! Products that contain less than 70% organic ingredients may still have labels boasting about their few organic components; this does not mean that the product is considered an organic product!!

Look for the Seal The USDA Organic seal assures buyers that the product comes from a manufacturer or farm that has an Organic-certified program and system plan and that all records of product production are verified in accordance to that plant. Manufacturers and farms that produce food that hold this seal are inspected annually unannounced to ensure standards are met and maintained.

Why Buy Organic??

Pesticides belong to a group of chemicals intended to kill living organisms and are intended to be toxic material. Consuming small amounts of pesticides each day may lead to a build-up of these toxic materials in the body. Pesticides in and on food have been linked to a variety of health problems including skin, eye, and lung irritation, cancers, nervous system side effects, and changes in hormone levels (http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/food/pest.htm). Organic produce is grown to be “earth friendly”, without pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. Although some foods nutritional content does not change depending on whether the food is organic or not, the presence of pesticides does!!!

What to buy Organic

According to the Environmental Working Group, the most contaminated foods are peaches, strawberries, apples, domestic blueberries, nectarines, cherries and imported grapes; buy these fruits organic! Of the vegetables: celery, sweet bell peppers, spinach, kale, collard greens and potatoes are best to buy organic because these vegetables retain the most pesticides (http://www.foodnews.org).

Naturally lower in Pesticides

The vegetables least likely to test positive for pesticides are onions, sweet corn, sweet peas, asparagus, cabbage, eggplant and sweet potatoes. Lower pesticide containing fruits include avocados, pineapples, mangoes, kiwi, domestic cantaloupe, watermelon, grapefruit and honeydew.

For a complete list of pesticide content for fruits and vegetables go to FoodNews.org.

Buy these Organic  (15 Listed from most pesticide-containing to least)

1. Celery
2. Peaches
3. Strawberries
4. Apples
5. Domestic Blueberries
6. Nectarines
7. Sweet Bell Peppers
8. Spinach
9. Kale/ Collard Greens
10. Cherries
11. Potatoes
12. Imported Grapes
13. Lettuce
14. Imported Blueberries
15. Carrots

Mothers continually struggle with trying to get their kids to eat more vegetables.  The question arises, should moms sneak veggies into their children’s food?  Or should they spend their energy convincing their kids to eat vegetables on their own?

It is clear to me that it is worth the extra effort to get your children to eat vegetables knowingly and willingly.  Sure, you can spend your time mashing up carrots and chopping up spinach to sneak into your daughter’s pancakes.  But what will happen five or ten years from now when she is living on her own?  She won’t be used to the true taste of a veggie and she certainly won’t have the time (or patience) to julienne her own greens.  Your victory will be short-lived.

You are much better off teaching your sons and daughters to enjoy the taste and the crunch of a vegetable.  It may seem easier said than done but there are some strategies you can use to make the process easier.

1. Serve your child vegetables from the beginning and continue through toddlerhood.

Every baby is given vegetables as some of their first foods.  But somehow, by the time a child is 2, his sole vegetable is usually potatoes in the form of french fries.  Parents often stop serving vegetables because the child is too old for pureed veggies and too young to eat hard chunks of vegetables on his own without choking.  Yet this is the most crucial time to serve your kids vegetables as snacks.  Try steaming or microwaving vegetable chunks until they are soft and no longer a choking hazard.  Be sure to serve all different types, including broccoli, carrots, zucchini and cauliflower.  Half of your child’s mealtime plate should be vegetables.

2. Allow your children to see you enjoying vegetables.

If you crinkle your nose at the sight of a brussel sprout, it is likely your children will too.  On the other hand, if you look forward to eating vegetables, your children will get the message that veggies are a healthy and delicious part of their diet.

3. Serve vegetables as its own course before the meal.

What mother hasn’t experienced her kids crying that they are STARVING while she is cooking dinner?  This is a perfect opportunity to get your kids to eat their vegetables.  Put out a plate of chopped veggies for your kids to pick on while you cook.  When vegetables are the only option, kids are more likely to eat them.  Give them another choice and they will often go with the less healthy version.

4. Serve vegetables in funny designs.

A bowl of zucchini may not seem fun but place the zucchini on a plate in the shape of a smiley face and suddenly eating it becomes a game.  Presentation can make a big difference.  Plate the vegetables in different shapes and your children may enjoy eating them more!

5. Serve vegetable soup.

Most kids love a bowl of vegetable soup, particularly on a cold day.  When you are having a particularly hard time getting your children to eat their veggies, throw them into a soup.

6. Take your kids shopping.

Take your children to the grocery store and spend some time in the produce aisle.  Go through the types of vegetables with them so they know the different options.  Allow your children to pick which special vegetable they want to try that week.  Then, when you serve it, make a big deal that this is your child’s “Special Vegetable of the Week”.

7. Start a vegetable garden.

Even better than letting them choose a vegetable from the supermarket?  Letting them pick one off the vine.  Start a vegetable garden with your children so they can grow their own vegetables.  Get them involved by allowing them to water and tend to the garden.  Then when the vegetables are grown, have your kids pick them and help you prepare them for eating.  The more invested your children are in the process, the more likely they are to eat the vegetables!

8. Serve vegetables with a healthy dip.

Everybody loves veggies with dip.  The key, however, is picking a healthy dip.  You are not helping your children by getting them to eat vegetables covered in full-fat ranch dressing.  Rather, give them a small amount of light or fat-free dressing to dip.  You can also try a small amount of heart-healthy guacamole or hummus.  Remember, the idea is for your kids to eat vegetables with a little bit of dip- not dip with a little bit of vegetables!

9. Serve vegetable stir-fry.

A great dinner option is some type of protein (chicken, lean steak, or fish) with stir-fried vegetables.  My kids love when I make chicken teriyaki (which is mostly veggies with small chunks of chicken).  Sometimes I even add a few pineapple rings for extra sweetness!

10. My favorite way to serve my kids vegetables…

Anybody who has ever gone out to lunch with me and my family knows my ordering quirk.  Instead of ordering french fries for my children, I order them sliced cucumber.  Like french fries, they can be eaten with their hands and they have a nice crunch.  Obviously they don’t taste the same as french fries but my kids enjoy them.  My children know that unless it is a special occasion, french fries are not an option for them.  It took awhile and there was definitely fighting and complaining in the beginning.  But I held strong and they have learned to eat the cucumbers instead.

There are many ways to get your children to enjoy eating vegetables.  You may have to get creative but in the end it is well worth it!

Originally posted 2009-06-08 11:53:50.

First there was the airbrushing of babies in magazines and now parents are starving newborns so they don’t become “fat babies”. What is this country coming to?

We all know that being overweight is unhealthy and can put a person at risk for medical illness. Being too thin, however, is also not healthy and often not attainable. Most of us were not meant to be a size zero. And those who do manage to starve themselves to this size, wind up regaining the weight. Yes, there are some people who are naturally skinny and they can be healthy. But most people really have to work to get (and stay) at that size, often using unhealthy methods. Society’s obsession with emaciation is leading to many adverse side effects.

Consider the case pending against Brittainy and Samuel Labberton for attempting to starve their newborn daughter to the point of clinical emaciation. They were much more concerned about the child’s looks than the child’s health! When the baby gained some (much-needed) weight during a hospitalization, Brittainy complained “’Oh my God, she’s fat’ and ‘I have a fat baby,’” according to Senior Deputy Prosecutor Carol Spoor. The baby’s dad was not better. He complained to detectives that his 9-month old daughter had “gained so much weight that now she is fat,” according to court documents. In fact, during a visitation after she was taken to a foster home, they gave the infant a bottle filled with a laxative to help remove some of the weight gained since the child’s removal from the house.

I see more subtle cases of this in my office, on a regular basis. I have seen mothers bring in normal-weight teen girls, complaining that they are too heavy. One mom even forced her daughter to drop her jeans so I could see “how disgusting her huge thighs are”. These moms are never pleased when I refuse to treat their daughters and instead I tell them that they are “healthy and beautiful.” Can you imagine what this does to a young girl’s self-image? My job is to help overweight kids get to a normal body weight, not to help young girls starve themselves to live up to some unrealistic expectation from their mothers!

The truth is that babies, children, and even adults NEED to have some body fat! The human brain is not fully developed at birth; during the first years of life, fat is used to nourish the brain and allow for proper development. Kids are supposed to have fat on their bodies, as well. Unlike adults, children are still growing and need sufficient calories and nutrients to do so. Even adults need some fat on their bodies. We were not meant to be stick-thin. A person considered “normal-weight” by the medical community would be considered enormous by Hollywood standards. Admiring pin-thin models and celebrities only leads our children to have more self-doubts and lower self-esteem. Instead of focusing on getting skinny, we should discuss getting healthy. There is a happy medium.

Children who feel accepted by their parents are more likely to feel secure, do better in school, and simply be happier. As parents, we must do all we can to nurture a positive sense of self in our children. Let’s stop obsessing about cellulite and a few extra pounds and instead focus on keeping weight in a healthy range, not too heavy and not too skinny. As my mom always says, “Everything in Moderation!”

Originally posted 2010-04-08 09:23:55.

I recently read a FASCINATING book called “The End of Overeating” by David A. Kessler, MD.  I highly recommend it!  In the book, Dr. Kessler reviews what makes some people prone to overeating.  He outlines the science behind the drive to eat when you are already full.  He then goes over how restaurants manipulate us to get us to eat more quickly and thus eat more food.

We are born preferring sweet tastes.  Even newborns “smile” when given sugar water!  But we are not just drawn to sweetness alone.  As Dr. Kessler points out, few people eat sugar straight from the packets.  Rather, we prefer mixtures of fat and sugar.  Adam Drewnowski did a study where he gave people drinks containing different ratios of milk and sugar.  Not surprisingly, the skim milk with sugar (no fat, lots of sugar) and the unsweetened cream (lots of fat, no sugar) did not get high marks.  Everybody preferred the mixture that contained lots of sugar and lots of fat.

More interesting, is that there is a “bliss point”, a point where we enjoy the sugar/fat the most.  It is possible too make a food too sweet or too fatty.  We all know that too little fat/sugar is no good but scientists have shown that too much fat/sugar is also not desired.  Scientists have shown that the ideal amount of sugar in a drink is 10%.  If a drink is more than 10% sugar, it is deemed too sweet.

Eating foods high in sugar and fat makes you want to eat MORE sugar and fat.

Variety makes you eat more.  Our body has what is called “taste-specific satiety”, meaning that it can become full from a certain taste but can immediately feel “hunger” if exposed to a different type of food.  This helps account for why we eat so much more at a buffet than a sit-down meal.

We become conditioned to eat high-fat, high-sugar foods.  In one study, people who did not usually snack mid-morning were given a high-fat, high-sugar snack before lunchtime for five days in a row.  For days afterwards, they craved a mid-morning snack, even though they never used to eat at that time!

When we first put a yummy food in our mouths, our taste buds send a signal to the brain that activates our body’s natural opiates.  Opiates make us feel pleasure and can also relieve pain or stress and can relax us.  No wonder I want to turn to a donut whenever I feel discomfort and anxiety!

Restaurants use this science agains us!  Restaurants are in the business to sell food.  And what sells?  Fat and sugar!  So restaurants will stick fat and sugar into everything.  If you order vegetables in a restaurant, chances are they have been fried (or sauteed) in oil.

It gets worse.  In just one example from the book, a consultant/restaurant insider discusses the Southwestern Eggrolls from Chilis.

Deep-frying the tortilla drives down its water content from 40 percent to about 5 percent and replaces the rest with fat.  “The tortilla is really going to absorb a lot of fat”…

“Cooked white meat chicken, binder added, smoke flavor.  People really like smoky flavor- it’s the caveman in them.”

“There’s green stuff in there,” he said, noting the spinach.  “That makes me feel like I am eating something healthy.”

He believed the chicken had been chopped and formed much like a meat loaf, with binders added, which makes those calories easier to swallow.  Ingredients that hold moisture, including autolyzed yeast extract, sodium phosphate, and soy protein concentrate, further soften the food.

I noticed that salt appeared eight times on the label and that sweeteners were there five times, in the form of corn-syrup solids, molasses, honey, brown sugar, and sugar.

“This is highly processed?” I asked.

“Absolutely, yes.  All of this has been processed such that you can wolf it down fast… chopped up and made ultrapalatable… Very appealing looking, very high pleasure in the fod, very high calorie density.  Rules out all the stuff you have to chew.”

By eliminating the need to chew, modern food processing techniques allow us to eat faster.  “When you’re eating these things, you’ve had 500, 600, 800, 900 calories before you know it,” said the consultant.  “Literally before you know it.”  Refined food simply melts in the mouth.

Restaurants add fat to everything!  Why?  The fat helps to lubricate the food so it absorbs saliva better and is swallowed more easily.  Fat also lingers after food is swallowed, leaving the flavor behind in your mouth.  The end result is that you eat so quickly that you don’t realize how much you have consumed.  And you still have some flavor in your mouth, keeping you salivating.  So what do you do next?  You order more!

Restaurants also add lubricants and process foods to eliminate the amount of time spent chewing.  According to Gail Civille, in the past Americans typically chewed a mouthful of food twenty-five times before swallowing; now it is only about ten times.   Food processing creates a type of “adult baby food” which doesn’t require much effort to eat.  Because it goes down so quickly, it easily overrides the body’s signals that should signal fullness.

Did you know that most restaurant food is fried not once, but twice?  It’s true!  Most chain restaurants use “individually quick-frozen foods”.  These foods are partially fried in factories before they are quick-frozen and sent to the restaurant.  Once in the restaurant, they can be taken from the package (still frozen) and into the deep fryer before being served.  Very few chain restaurants cook the food from scratch.  This helps explain why a Chili’s burger tastes the same in New York as it does in Nevada.  They are all made in the same factory!  Yum…  Even the vegetables and lettuce are prepared elsewhere and then either frozen or sealed in vacuum packages.

The book goes on to give lots of other examples of how restaurants manipulate food to get us to eat more quickly and thus eat more.  It also goes over lots of different food chains, including Starbucks, Cinnabon’s, Pink’s, McDonalds and more, revealing their techniques to make their food more appealing.    I think it is a must-read for every parent.  It definitely has made me think twice about eating out!

Originally posted 2009-06-08 10:22:26.

The Age of Computers and Television has also become the Age of the Couch Potato. Instead of running outside to play, our kids choose to sit down and text. This decrease in activity level is contributing to the current child obesity epidemic. One third of all children in the United States are overweight or obese and at risk for medical illness because of their weight. Is your child part of that group? If so, insufficient exercise could be partly to blame.

A new study from the British Heart Foundation revealed that the vast majority of parents overestimate the amount of time their kids exercise. According to this study, seven out of ten parents think their kids get enough exercise but only one in ten actually meets current recommendations. Most parents don’t even know what the current recommendations are! The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends one hour of exercise almost every day of the week. Few children get even half that amount.

And many people confuse “physical activity” with “exercise”. True exercise requires an increase in heart rate and the inability to speak in full sentences. Your child is not working hard enough if she can carry on a conversation while she is moving. The next time your child is exercising, try this “talk test”. Ask her a question and see how she answers it. If she responds fluidly without any huffing and puffing, ask her to turn the intensity of her exercise up a notch. You can be sure your child is really exercising is she takes deep breaths between words.

Parents often believe that their kids are exercising whenever they play a sport. Yet many sports do not get a child’s heart rate up enough to constitute true exercise. Consider baseball; a child playing baseball spends most of his time sitting on the bench waiting to bat or standing in the field waiting for the ball. I always tell my patients that baseball isn’t exercise! Of course, a baseball practice that includes running drills is an exception and would be considered real exercise.

When parents ask me if a particular sport is considered exercise, I tell them that it depends. When my daughter first started to play soccer, she would stand on the sideline and watch the other kids run with the ball. If the ball would happen to come to her, she would kick it. Clearly, this was not exercise. But fast-forward two years later and she is a soccer animal! She runs up and down the field, trying to get the ball and score. Now she is exercising!

How can you ensure that your child is getting enough exercise? I recommend scheduling your child’s exercise just as you schedule a doctor’s appointment. Decide in advance when your child has the time to exercise and put it on the calendar. The key is to keep these appointments. Being tired or not in the mood does not constitute a reason to skip an exercise session. Would you skip a doctor’s appointment for those reasons? Of course not! Treat your exercise sessions the same way.

Remember, 70% of parents incorrectly believe their kids are getting enough exercise. Do not be part of that group! Examine your child’s exercise routine with an unbiased eye and make sure that she is getting the exercise she needs.

Originally posted 2010-03-30 13:58:29.

The likelihood of our children living healthy, long lives continues to decrease.  A new study from the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center found that children now have more risk factors for heart disease than their parents.  Our kids are now more likely to have a heart attack at some time during their lives than we are!

The major reason for this increased risk is the significantly increased rate of obesity among children.  Studies show that children today have a significantly higher body mass index (BMI) than children in the past.  Even more disturbing, they also have increased mass in their left heart ventricles, a known risk factor for both heart attacks and strokes.

This study supports what the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has been saying for the past few years; pediatricians and parents MUST start screening kids for obesity and taking action immediately.  We can no longer wait until our children “grow out of their baby fat”.  Unfortunately, today’s kids keep their baby fat and continue to add to it throughout their lives.  Without some sort of intervention, our children will continue to eat themselves to death.
One major hindrance to treating overweight children is that parents and pediatricians often fail to recognize that a child is overweight.  Our country’s perception of normal is completely skewed; we have lost sight of what a child is supposed to look like.    Studies show that the majority of parents of obese children consider their kids “normal weight”.  In fact, some of these parents labeled their kids as “underweight”.

We must look at the facts and ignore our preconceived notions of what is a normal weight for a child.  The body mass index (BMI) percentile is the best way to screen a child for obesity.

Pediatricians use BMI percentiles to determine if a child is overweight or obese.  BMI is a measure of body weight relative to height.  You can’t determine if a child is overweight without considering the child’s height.  For example, is a child who weighs 90 pounds overweight?  That depends.  That child would be overweight if he were three feet tall but would not be overweight if he were five feet tall.  BMI tells us how appropriate a child’s weight is for his height and is a better measure of body fatness than body weight.

With adults, BMI interpretation is very cut and dry.  A BMI between 25 and 30 is considered overweight, between 30 and 35 is considered obese, and between 35 and 40 is considered morbidly obese.

It is not so simple for children.  Children at different stages of growth and development are expected to have different amounts of body fat.  At some stages of childhood they should have more body fat and at other stages of childhood they should have less.

To decide if a child is overweight or obese, we look at a child’s BMI percentile.  That is, we compare a child’s BMI to the BMIs of all children of the same age and gender.  We then see how the child compares to his peers.

What does it mean if a child is in the 88th percentile?  A child whose BMI is in the 88th percentile has a BMI that is greater than 88% of all children of the same age and gender.  This child is in the overweight category.

A BMI between the 85th and 95th percentiles is considered overweight; between the 95th and 99th percentiles is considered obese; above the 99th percentile is considered morbidly obese.

Parents should ask their pediatricians about their child’s BMI percentile at each well child visit.  If your child’s BMI is greater than the 85th percentile, you must take action immediately to minimize your child’s risk of a heart attack and to maximize your child’s lifespan.  Do not wait to intervene!

Originally posted 2010-04-15 09:13:20.

You can’t trust everything you read, especially if it is a nutrition label! In a disheartening study from the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers found that many dietetic frozen food entrees had many more calories than their nutrition labels claimed; on average, the frozen foods, including items from Weight Watchers, Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, and South Beach, contained 8% more calories than their boxes suggested. They also found many discrepancies between the number of calories in food items at many popular chain restaurants and the number of calories these restaurants claim their food contains. On average, restaurant foods contained 18% more calories than listed.

So if you can’t trust a printed calorie count, what can you trust? It seems, not much.

According to restaurant representatives, these calorie discrepancies are due to slight variations in portions sizes. For example, a particular restaurant worker may use slightly more cheese in the potato skins than another restaurant employee. They claim that it is impossible for workers across the country to keep menu items completely uniform.

This study brings into question the usefulness of the new “calorie labeling” laws recently passed in many areas, including New York City. What is the purpose of requiring companies to post calorie counts if they are not accurate?

In my opinion, calorie postings are crucial, even if the actual calorie count is not exact. According to the FDA, restaurant and packaged foods are allowed a 20% margin of error. Therefore, a 300 calorie sandwich may contain anywhere from 270 to 330 calories. These “estimates” (which is really what they are) give consumers a good idea of how healthy a food is. Even if you don’t know exactly how many calories an item contains, the postings give you an idea of which choices are healthier than others. And since few Americans adhere to a very strict number of daily calories, a rough estimate is good enough.

Some nutrition experts argue that eating an extra hundred or so calories on a continual basis will lead to weight gain. Of course that statement is true, but I just don’t see a better alternative. Having some idea of how many calories a food contains is better than having no idea at all.

Certain restaurants, however, have crossed the line. Slight variations in portion size do not explain the fact that P.F. Chang’s Sichuan Asparagus had more than DOUBLE the 200 calories the dish is reported to contain. Such egregious discrepancies are unacceptable and restaurants should have to pay significant fines for misleading the public.

Yet not all items went over their stated calorie counts. Researchers found many items that contained fewer calories than reported! Domino’s large thin crust pizza, for example, had one third fewer calories than the listed 180 calories per serving. Now that is a refreshing piece of news, although I guarantee that Domino’s will be posting this new, lower calorie count faster than P.F. Chang’s will change their Sichuan Asparagus calorie count!

Obviously, I would like calorie postings to be as accurate as possible. But when actual people are preparing the meals, there is no way for serving sizes to be 100% standardized. With the current obesity crisis as it is, we need to do everything we can to give consumers as much nutrition information as possible. Until there is a way to exactly calculate how many calories a person is eating, calorie estimates will have to suffice. Let’s just institute strict laws for companies, like P.F. Chang’s, who blatantly misrepresent themselves.

Originally posted 2010-04-19 11:12:34.

At times the desire to eat certain foods becomes overpowering and in an attempt to avoid disappointing Mom and Dad, kids start to sneak food.  Often, parents do not see the amount of unhealthy foods their children are consuming.  Have you noticed any erratic eating patterns, hidden candy wrappers, disappearing foods, or consistent weight gain?   If so, your child may be sneaking food.  Over time, children who sneak unhealthy foods can become overweight or obese.
What can you do as a concerned parent?

1. Initiate a conversation with your child and let him know that you will be discussing an important health issue.  Try not to come on too strong.  You might start by saying, “I have noticed something and I am worried about your health.”  You can then state your concern.  “I found a bunch of candy wrappers under your bed” or “I can’t understand why you are gaining weight when you seem to eat so healthy.”  Then tell him that you want to help, not condemn.
2. Do not bombard your child with questions all at once.  Once you have opened up the conversation, sit back and listen to what your child has to say.  At first, you may get denials.  If so, simply tell him that you love him and that you are always there if he wants to talk.  It may take some time before your child is ready to open up to you.
3. Be aware that secretive eating is almost always associated with feelings of guilt.  Let your child explain why he feels guilty about eating certain foods.  Try to emphasize that eating and enjoying food is an important part of life and should not be associated with guilt.  Remind your child that no food is off limits and that anything is okay in moderation.
4. Be sure your child knows that he should not feel embarrassed about craving certain foods or about overindulging.  Explain that dieting is not easy and that everybody goes overboard once in a while.  Let him know that you will not be angry if he occasionally eats unhealthy foods.  Tell him you are there to help him get through his cravings without completely sacrificing his nutrition.  Then explain what you do when you face cravings.  The bottom line is to make sure your child knows that you understand what he is going through.
5. Help your child find nutritious foods that he enjoys.  If your child is sneaking brownies, suggest a 100-calorie pack of brownies or a brownie Vitamuffin.  You may be able to find a healthier version of the desired food.
6. Try not to have junk food, desserts, and unhealthy snacks in the house. Remove the temptation by clearing the fridge and cupboards.
7. If the problem persists, consult a health professional.  Sneaking food is often a symptom of an underlying emotional issue.  It may even be a sign of depression so it is important to seek additional help if you cannot resolve the food sneaking behavior by yourself.

Originally posted 2010-03-29 12:29:06.

Play dates are a great way for your child to interact with other children, learn to share, build social skills, and most of all, have fun! But what happens when your overweight child comes home to tell you about the fried Oreos or fast food snack he consumed at his friend’s house?

It is clear that parents often have different styles and ideas concerning food. But there are ways to ensure your child’s play date doesn’t turn into a day of indulgence.

Here are some helpful hints to having peace-of-mind during play dates.

1. Have an open conversation with your child. Discuss the food options he may encounter and help him come up with healthy alternatives. When served an unhealthy treat, teach him to respectfully say, “No thank you. May I have an apple or some almonds instead?” He doesn’t need to tell his friends why he is choosing a healthier food. If they ask, he can simply say, “I like this better.” End of discussion.
2. Talk to the other parents. You don’t need to go into details but you can mention that your family is trying to eat healthy and avoid junk food and super-sized portions. By saying your family and not your son, you switch the emphasis from your son’s weight to your entire family’s health.
3. Give some examples of the types of (easy) snacks that you prefer. Some parents may not know which snacks are healthy or may simply be unable to come up with healthy ideas. Choose items that most people have in their kitchens. You may mention apples or apple slices with peanut butter, bananas, low-fat yogurt, raw veggies, reduced-calorie bread with turkey slices, baked potato chips, and low-fat cheese sticks. You may find these parents stocking up on these healthy snacks once they see your child eating them. Everybody’s home may wind up healthier!
4. Ask the parents to serve your child water instead of juice or soda.
5. If your child is embarrassed to have you speak to his friend’s mother, simply send your child to the play date with a healthy snack from home. If your child feels comfortable bringing his own snack, prepare a snack ahead of time so he can enjoy a healthy option without having to explain himself. He can simply say, “I am just a picky eater so I brought my own.”
6. Lead by example: When you are hosting play dates, have a variety of foods for kids to try. Prepare healthy foods you know your children love and create a friendly environment for their friends to discover new foods.  For example, if you know your child loves red peppers, slice up a few and notice what happens. Other children will become curious and may end up loving red peppers too. When kids see a friend eating something and loving it, most often they will try it with on open mind, no force necessary! They will probably go home and ask Mom to buy their new favorite food… red peppers!
7. Encourage active play dates to decrease the amount of sedentary time children have throughout the day. Weather permitting, try to get the kids outside with suggestions such as playing tag, bike riding, shooting hoops or any running-type sport, like soccer. If it is winter time, try inside games like twister, Wii sport or Wii Fit to keep kids moving. Sometimes kids just need a little prodding to move away from the TV and towards something active.

Most of all, be open and honest with other parents. Explain that this is something you are struggling with in your own house and that you would appreciate any help on this matter. You may be surprised to learn that you are not the only family on the block with the exact same issues!

Originally posted 2010-03-18 15:32:21.

If you have toddlers, you know how hard it is sometimes to get them to eat! Meal time is rarely a quiet, relaxing experience with toddlers in the house. With these tips, however, you may be able to coax your toddler into cooperating with you long enough to eat.

1 – Schedule regular meal times for your toddler. Toddlers function much better when they eat at regular times. They learn to expect when they are going to eat and will better transition into meal time.

2 – Sit down with your toddler to eat. If your toddler is having a meal at a different time from the rest of your family, still sit down with him or her to eat. My toddlers put much more energy into concentrating on what they are supposed to be doing if I’m sitting there with them. They enjoy my company and it makes meal time more pleasant for them to have me to talk to (they also fight with each other less).

3 – Don’t regularly feed your toddler foods you know he doesn’t like. It’s good to try to introduce new foods to your child, but do so slowly. If your child doesn’t like something, wait awhile to try to feed it to him again. Meal times are hard enough as it is without trying to force your toddler to eat something he doesn’t like.

4 – Don’t be afraid to let your toddler regularly eat the same foods. If you find something your toddler especially likes to eat, don’t be afraid to serve it often. My toddlers have several lunches that they enjoy, so I alternate those lunches so that they are eating the same foods, but not every day. Often toddlers get into a rut where they want to eat the same things all the time. This is fine, you can still slowly introduce other foods until they acquire a taste for them.

5 – To make sure your toddler is hungry at meal time, don’t let him have too much to drink or have a snack too close to meal time. It’s easy to lose track of time and not notice it’s almost time for dinner when they’re begging for a snack. If they’re hungry they’re much more likely to eat their dinner.

6 – If your toddler starts messing around at the table and playing with food or trying to get down from the table, tell him you will take his food away if he doesn’t settle down–and mean it! If he’s hungry he’ll settle down in a hurry.

7 – Having a hard time getting your toddler to drink milk? Limit how much chocolate milk he drinks so that he doesn’t have anything to compare the milk to. At this age chocolate milk isn’t really necessary and they won’t miss it if they don’t have it. I serve my toddlers milk for every meal, and they know they are supposed to drink milk when they sit down at the table. They get watered down juice for snacks and water in bed.

8 – No matter how messy it is, let your toddler feed himself. Of course I don’t feed my toddlers really messy foods, but it is a good idea to let your toddler feed himself as much as possible. It makes them be more interested in eating if they get to using their own spoon or fork. I’ve tried using toddler spoons and forks, and they worked for awhile, but my boys now want to use mommy’s spoon and fork. Give your toddler foods in a variety of shapes and textures to experiment with. You’ll be surprised at how fast they learn to feed themselves!

Originally posted 2010-03-18 14:57:13.